Trainer Gavin Bedggood has given Group 1 winner Mornington Glory a thorough grounding ahead of his latest return to racing.
Mornington Glory has his first outing in almost seven months in the Listed Bob Hoysted Handicap (1000m) at Flemington on Saturday where he will be joined by recent stable acquisition Johnny Rocker.
Bedggood has played the long game with Mornington Glory after his was diagnosed with ‘bone bruising’ after an unsuccessful three-run early spring campaign last year which came to end after running last in the Concorde Stakes at Randwick.
“Post Sydney, we sent him off for an MRI and scintigraphy, and he came back with pod lesions, or severe bone bruising,” Bedggood said.
“He had a three-month paddock break, a long rehab and returned with a month on the water walker, a month on the sandhills (at Cranbourne) and then a month of pacework.
“He’s got a really good base of fitness on him. He won his last trial, but I would say I have seen him trial better than what he did.
“He’s a horse that has not performed at his best first-up, but I would be disappointed if he didn’t run well.”
Mornington Glory struck a purple patch of form during the early spring of 2024, culminating in his victory in the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley.
After two more starts he was sent for a break and got to the trialling stage last autumn but again went for a spell after wrenching a joint.
Bedggood conceded there was possibly ‘trainer error’ in sending Mornington Glory to the races last spring off only one trial before his campaign ended after three runs.
An Adelaide campaign could be on the agenda for Mornington Glory after Saturday’s outing and one more start.
“He’s got to put his hand up and show me something in his first two runs, otherwise we might pull the pin,” Bedggood said.
“I don’t want to be that trainer that had a good horse that kept on banging it around for the sake of running it.
“He owes us nothing and we owe him everything.”
Johnny Rocker will have his first outing for Bedggood after one start in Sydney for the Bjorn Baker stable after previously being in the care of Nick Ryan at Flemington.
Under Ryan’s care, Johnny Rocker almost ran down Imperatriz in the Group 1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley in March 2024.
“We’ve probably had him for six weeks and he and Mornington Glory have pretty much been workmates,” Bedggood said.
“I thought he galloped fantastic at Caulfield the other week but trialled below par at Cranbourne.
“His fitness is very good. He had the one run in Sydney before coming to me and like Mornington Glory, you want to see him be competitive and show he’s still got that zest for racing.
“He lives out in a yard. He’s gone from being boxed at Flemington and Warwick Farm, so we’re trying to get him right mentally.”
